TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Former Arizona State pitcher Jon Switzer (1999-2001) made his major league debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Saturday night against the Kansas City Royals, becoming the 79th Sun Devil to wear a MLB uniform.

Switzer starred at Arizona State from 1999-2001 before being selected in the 2nd round of the 2001 June MLB Amateur Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The left-handed pitcher was 23-13 in the Maroon and Gold, recording back-to-back 100+ strikeout seasons in 2000 (121) and 2001 (128). He finished his career with 327 strikeouts in 303.1 innings.

After being selected 47th overall in the 2001 draft, Switzer made his professional debut with the Hudson Valley Renegades in the New York-Penn League. In his first pro season he went 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA. He moved up to Bakersfield (Single-A) in the California League in 2002, going 7-5 with a 4.27 ERA in 103.1 innings. After a successful spring training that saw him appear in three big league camp games, he started the season at Double-A Orlando (Southern League). Switzer was 7-8 with a 3.50 ERA and held opponents to a .247 batting average before receiving his call-up.

In his MLB debut Saturday (August 2) against the Royals, Switzer gave up three runs on four hits, including a Carlos Beltran home run to lead off the fifth, over 2 2/3 innings. He entered with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth and retired Aaron Guiel on a sacrifice fly and Joe Randa on a ground ball.

"It started off pretty good," Switzer said on the Devil Rays' official website. "I just couldn't find my slider and it cost me the last two innings. I was fairly relaxed. I like it that they put me in a situation like that."